(1) Field of the Invention
The invention pertains generally to communication systems. More specifically, the invention relates to automatically configuring session initiation protocol (SIP) servers and client devices for guest usage at hospitality establishments.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Before the invention of the cell phone, private branch exchange (PBX) systems employing per-call billing were typically revenue generators for hotels. Take for example the situation where a guest without a cell phone is staying at a hotel and needs to make a phone call; the most convenient option is for the guest to use the phone provided in the guest's hotel room. To profit from this convenience, most hotels automatically charge for long distance calls made via the in-room phone, and some enterprising hotels charge for local calls in a similar manner. In-room phone charges typically show up as an itemized list along with the guest's folio at checkout, and calls may be charged on either a per-minute or per-usage basis.
Although many hotels currently charge for calls made by guests via in-room phones, hotel PBX systems are no longer the cash cows they used to be. In today's age of ubiquitous mobile phones, guests typically arrive with their own phone in pocket. The in-room phone is shunned by a guest equipped with a mobile phone except perhaps to call the front desk or to directly dial another guest room. Especially for heavy phone users, as long as there is sufficient cell phone signal coverage and the phone is still on its ‘home’ cellular network to avoid roaming charges, guests almost always prefer to use their own mobile phone rather than the in-room phone for both incoming and outgoing calls. From the guest's point of view, there is often no advantage and several disadvantages with using the in-room phone rather the guest's personal mobile phone. As such, the legacy hotel PBX system is often unable to compete with a guest's personal mobile phone.
Recognizing these trends along with the rise of popularity of mobile phones, some hotel insiders predicted that the in-room guest phone would simply disappear. The rational was as follows: if guests are making minimal use of the in-room phone because everyone nowadays has their own cell phone, why not save some money by not providing a phone in each room? Contrary to these predictions and despite low usage numbers, the in-room guest phone is still here for emergency preparedness. A guest without a functioning cell phone will expect there to be a working in-room phone in an emergency situation such as a fire. Other hospitality-specific functionality such as wake up calls also make use of the in-room phones.
As such, the current state of the art is that hotels generally incur costs to install and maintain a PBX system and an in-room phone in each guest room, but this equipment at best generates only small profit for the hotel and more typically generates losses because it is rarely utilized by guests.